besmirch

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɪˈsmɝtʃ/ UK /bɪˈsmɜːtʃ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to soil or to damage someone's reputation or honor

He sued the tabloid for trying to besmirch his good name.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to soil or to damage... sully tarnish stain defile dishonor taint smear

Opposites

honor cleanse purify

Word family

Derived forms besmirchment

Related forms smirch

Etymology

From be- (intensive) + smirch ('to discolor, stain'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French esmorcher ('to torture, hurt').

be- Old English smirch Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# besmirch

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bɪˈsmɝtʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /bɪˈsmɜːtʃ/

## Meanings
1. to soil or to damage someone's reputation or honor

## Examples
- He sued the tabloid for trying to besmirch his good name.

## Synonyms
- sully
- tarnish
- stain
- defile
- dishonor
- taint
- smear

## Antonyms
- honor
- cleanse
- purify

## Derived Forms
- besmirchment

## Related Forms
- smirch

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: be-
- Root: smirch

## Etymology
From be- (intensive) + smirch ('to discolor, stain'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French esmorcher ('to torture, hurt').

## AI Etymology
Besmirch is from be- (intensive) + smirch ('to discolor, stain'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French esmorcher ('to torture, hurt'). Important recorded forms include be- (Old English) and smirch (Middle English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. Its deeper history remains uncertain, with proposed links left as possibilities rather than a single settled derivation. The current sense covers to soil or to damage someone's reputation or honor. The wider family includes derived forms such as besmirchment and related words such as smirch.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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